The Lake
by TokiNoEiyuu
Summary: The beginning. And how Jack came to be Jack Frost. Meeting the Guardians and eventually Pitch. ( Note: *SPOILERS* Please bear with the freedom I am taking on this! Thank you!)EDIT: SAW THE MOVIE! But I will still go my own way, while trying to stay true to the story. :3 REVIEWS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME, thank you all you lovely people who read this!
1. The Lake

"Come here, Lizzy!", he shouted, gesturing the girl standing at the shore of the lake to join him on the ice. "I promise, I'll hold your hand so you won't fall." Lizzy quickly shook her head, her hands firmly holding onto the hem of her coat. He couldn't help but laugh as he skated towards her.

He must have been here a hundred times but today was special. It was the first day this year that the ice was thick enough so he could take her skating.

Elizabeth, his little sister, but known as Lizzy to most, had just turned six. He had promised her that this winter she would be finally old enough to go ice skating with him. It had taken him days to fashion some skater shoes that would fit her and he was quite content with the result. He had even managed to scrape up enough money to decorate them with light blue ribbons as laces.

As they reached the lake Lizzy got so scared, she refused to get onto the ice. He had helped her into her shoes and carefully done the bows on the bright blue laces, smiling reassuringly at her.

She remained stubborn, saying she was not going to get out onto the ice with him.

Jack left her there for a moment, skating to the middle of the lake, encouraging her to try and follow him. He could see she was getting teary-eyed now so he quickly raced back to her.

He held out his hands and, skating backwards he slowly pulled his sister with him onto the frozen surface of the lake.

"Come, Lizzy", he said again, keeping an eye on how she was doing on her short little legs. She was quivering a great deal but managed to stay upright. He gave her another big smile, that she was too busy to return. Concentrating, she tentatively began to move her feet a little, then more, until Jack had the feeling she was quite secure in what she was doing.

"All right, little one, think you can do this by yourself now? Because I would really like to take one quick round around the lake." Lizzy's eyes got a little wider, her legs immediately a bit shakier but she nodded gravely. "I will be right back with you, just stay here in the middle so I can find you later, yes?" Elizabeth giggled at that. The lake was not very big, after all. "I won't go anywhere. I promise."  
The ice sang under his blades and he sped up further, going as fast as he could. Then he braced himself for a sharp turn near where the old Willow tree stood, its naked twigs almost touching the surface of the frozen water. How he loved these winter days. Unlike the others he did not even mind the cold all that much. Besides, the mere idea of staying inside the house with his family all day crammed together like birds in cage too small to hold all of them made him cringe.

He loved his brothers and sisters like one could only love their family but he needed the space. Being with them all the time made him feel he was slowly being suffocated under a thick blanket.

The speed and ease with which he could move on ice lightened his racing heart giving him the sense of... well, freedom. He hoped one day he could explain this to Lizzy and maybe, who could tell, maybe she would feel the same way.

Gracefully making the turn his head shot towards the right, where he had told Elizabeth to wait for him. A rush colder than the air around him went down his spine then, freezing his heart. She was not there.

He raced back to the middle of the lake, desperately looking for the blonde head of hair. Had she gone back to the shore? "Lizzy?" he called out, the lump of fear in his throat muffling his voice. He called out again. "Lizzy, where are you?" Then he heard the splashing, the coughing.

Thoughts racing Jack skated back to the shore breaking off a long branch off a tree and jumped back onto the ice. There she was, near the willow tree. The ice hadn't been thick enough there and what little weight she had must have been enough to break it.

The closer he got the more he forced himself to slow down even though all he wanted to do was jump into the water to get her out. Jack dropped onto his knees and then onto his stomach crawling towards the hole in the ice. "Hold onto this!" He held out the branch to Elizabeth whose hands took a firm hold on it immediately. As he pulled her out he was aware of how pale and shocked she looked, and the tears rimming her eyes. He had promised he would look after her.

The very moment her feet were out of the icy water he took her tiny hands in his and carefully pulled her and himself back towards the shore. Everything was going to be all right. She was safe now. He would take her back to the house, put her into warm clothing and place her right in front of the fire place, until the cold was forgotten.

When he had put enough distance between them and the hole he dared to get back onto his feet again. He grabbed his sister and held her tight to his chest, her wet clothes dampening his coat. "I am so sorry about that, Lizzy, I should have been there. You should have stayed where I told you to." Elizabeth only sobbed, her face buried into his shirt, her hands firmly holding onto his coat. "Shh," he said soothingly. "It will be all right, we go home now, drink some nice hot milk, what do you say to that, hm?"

He was so concentrated on reaching the shore line, which seemed to take so much longer than usual that he did not notice how the ice cracked. Jack was too stunned to even scream as the ice broke, the bit he was standing on turned like the heaver side of a seesaw and then flipped completely.

For a disorienting moment he and Lizzy were caught under the heavy block of ice, the water so cold it turned him numb the very moment he had fallen into it.

Then Jack looked up and saw a bit of pure winter sunlight and knew where he could get themselves out.

He pushed up the ice floe as far as he could, the cold water slowing down his movements, freezing him to the bone. He gathered all strength that he had left and pushed the little body of his sister out onto the ice, telling her to run.

She spat out water and cried but obediently crawled to the shore line. Jack tried to push himself up but every time he tried putting his weight onto the ice it would just break away.

Strength began to fail him and the water was burning his skin now. He felt hot, he could not move any longer, he was tired.

The last thing he saw was his sister standing there, her clothes clinging to her body, her tiny hands clinging to the rim of her coat.

Dusk was falling and with it came the darkness. But it also brought something else, something bright. The air was crisp and clear and the moon shone down onto the small lake.

The moonshine could not reach the body floating under the thick layer of ice but that did not matter. Moon had watched it happening earlier this day and he knew were to look.

Without effort Moon pulled the child up. Out of the water and right through the ice. Moon was strong, no doubt about that. Moon gently put the sleeping child down, onto the ice that had betrayed the boy so and claimed his life today.

His skin was delicately white as porcelain, his hands and feet were almost blue. Up from his place beyond the clouds Moon sent his strongest beam of moon light.

As it touched the ice and the boy lying on it, something changed. The air became crisper and the ice thicker as the boy's chest rose and sank, his lungs desperately sucking in air. He opened his once brown eyes, pushed himself up and looked around.

His gaze wandered over to the shore, then onto the ice he was sitting on. He was not cold at all.

He looked at his feet and wondered why he wasn't wearing any shoes. He tried to remember something but the harder he attempted it the further it slipped his mind.

Standing up he noticed the wooden staff that was lying next to his naked feet. The staff was important, that much he knew. He picked it up and felt an odd warm tingling shooting up his arm.

He put the curled end of the staff down onto the ice. Little sparks shot out of the tip that leaked over the ice coloring it in glittering rainbow hues.

The boy stretched his arms and wriggled his toes. He looked down again. His feet were barely touching the ground. He jumped. And flew eighty feet high up into the air. Full of wonder he looked across the tree tops and onto the tiny houses in the distance.

After taking a round over the lake the boy hovered over a tree top, trying to land on a thick branch of the old oak. As he sat down a thought occurred to him. Who was he? What was he doing here?

The moon appeared from behind a passing cloud: "I see you are enjoying your gift", Moon said.

"What?", the boy asked dumbfounded. He squinted into the bright light.

"I gave you a gift today, boy." The child did not know what this meant. "Who am I?", he asked.

"Your name from this day on shall be Jack Frost."

Jack Frost nodded.

"We shall talk no more. Live, Jack. And use your gift wisely." And Moon said no more to Jack.

"Wait! What does that even mean? Can't you at least tell me what I am doing here?"

Jack never got an answer.


	2. The Town

The night lasted long, but finally dawn came and an orange sun slowly rose from behind the naked trees.  
Sitting cross-legged on the frozen surface of the lake Jack lazily drew glittering frost patterns onto the dull ice by sweeping the staff around. He had not slept. He had not felt tired at all.  
Jack Frost was restless.  
He had desperately tried to remember what made him... him, and he had failed. He did not know who he really was and how he came to be in this place, let alone where he came from. It was as though his mind had been wiped clean from everything he had once known.  
Well, not everything. There were some basic things he still knew, even though they were vague like the shadows of once clearer memories.  
Jack had a faint idea about the town that lay beyond the little forest. He wondered if the people there knew him.  
He stood up from the ice without any effort and made use of the slight gust of wind that blew across the lake flying high up into the air, making his way to the scattered little houses in the distance.

The town, if you could call it that, was deadly quiet. The wind carried the noise of wood being cut to his ears but no person was in sight.  
Looking around the dark wooden houses he searched for one any source of light because that would mean someone inside was awake already.  
Further in the distance a door was being opened and shut.  
A broad-shouldered man came walking towards him.  
Relieved, Jack put on a hesitant smile and waved at the man to get his attention.  
"Good day to you sir, I am sorry to bother you but..." he paused, swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. "I'm afraid I got lost and don't know my way around this place. Could you tell me where I am here?" Jack said with a tight smile on his lips, his heart racing.  
The man stared ahead as if he hadn't noticed him at all. Well, that wasn't very polite.  
"Sir, excuse me, but-" A horrible cold tore through his very insides as the man walked right through him.  
Jack's hands shot up to his chest, rubbing his sternum to ease the pain he felt this moment.  
Eyes widened in shock, the boy stood there, his mind racing from one chaotic thought to the next one. What had just happened?  
Finally Jack turned around and ran towards the man who had begun gathering logs of wood.  
The boy reached out in an attempt to touch the man's shoulder but to his dismay his fingers slipped through the fabric and skin as though the man was made of mist. Without any disturbance the man kept gathering wood.  
Panic unfurled its nasty tendrils then and tightened around Jack's chest. The pale winter sun was flooding the town in its soft light and more and more people left their houses to attend to their daily chores.  
Afternoon came and the sun was already setting, days were so short in winter, there never seemed to be enough time.  
Curled up, knees to his chest Jack Frost sat in the middle of the forest that lay between the lake and the town, fresh snow surrounding him.  
No one had been able to see him. He had tried everything: Calling out to them, screaming at the top of his lungs, eventually. Trying to touch someone (at one desperate point even trying to poke an old man with the curved end of the staff) and knocking on the doors of some of the houses. To no avail.  
He stared at the snow, not wanting to acknowledge the tears that were running down his pale cheeks.  
A single snowflake fell and melted on the bridge of the boy's nose.  
Bringing up both hands Jack sighed and wiped his face. "No use being gloomy", he told himself. "Get yourself together, Jack. Do something."  
So he could not touch others but he had found that he could touch some inanimate things, like the wooden staff. His hands closed around a little bit of snow. He formed a loose ball and threw it. All right, touching snow worked as well.  
He got up and went over to a tree, scraping at its trunk. When he held a piece of dark crumbling bark in his hand he felt calmer. He had not completely vanished to the world around him, he could still manipulate certain things.

He took the staff and poked at the tree trunk. Jack's heart skipped a beat as the colors almost seemed to explode as the icy shapes crawled over the dark tree bark. Well, that was fun. He playfully swung around, aiming at a small tree further off in the distance. A blast of ice shot out of the curved end of the staff, hitting the tree hard enough to cause all the snow that had sat in its branches to fall down.  
A smile found its way to the boy's lips.


	3. Time to leave - Spring

Time passed and the days got longer, the sun showing its bright face more often now.  
Jack spent most of his days flying carefree through the skies, looking for anything interesting to happen and occasionally making it snow a little more or freeze the ice of rivers and lakes so that the children could keep ice skating on it.  
What he enjoyed most were the snowball fights. Children loved that and it was one of the few situations where they seemed to forget their usual weariness of the cold.  
Jack could usually participate in these snow ball fights by throwing in a snowball or two without having any of the kids wondering who threw it. He still couldn't be seen by anyone but at least he didn't feel completely left out.

Jack opened his icy blue eyes after a long good sleep. He found that he didn't really need to sleep but sometimes it was a good thing to do simply to pass the time.  
He noticed that something in the air smelled off. Something was very wrong. It was too warm and for the first time since he could remember he felt uncomfortable with the weather. The sun seemed too bright and the wind too mild. He sat up and looked at the ground beneath him. Puzzled he grabbed a handful of what was not snow. It was dirt. There were little green blades of grass here and there. He flew up into the air to get a better overview.  
The was hardly any snow left, not on the roofs of the houses, in the trees or on the ground. There were mushy gray specks here and there but that was all. The lake was still frozen but the surface was now covered in watery spots.  
Jack had no idea what was going on. He was hot, which was an unfamiliar, unpleasant feeling. Still hovering high up in the air, he took off his coat for the first time, hoping this would help cool him down a little. He let go of it.  
As his leather coat dropped towards the ground he watched it turn into a cloud of snow which was then carried away by a gust of wind.  
He did not know what to make of that. That usually did not happen when humans took off a piece of clothing, did it? He shrugged this thought off, still feeling hot, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.  
It dawned on him then. It was time to leave.

For a long time Jack had flown. He had crossed a vast ocean that had seemed to stretch farther and farther, but finally had found land. When he had looked around in this strange place he found it was not very welcoming: The sun burned on his skin and the heat was unbearable.  
So he kept going, going further north.

After a couple of nights and days Jack decided to make a short break, he felt exhausted.  
He made a stop at a small village, noticing how different the houses looked here.  
Dropping to the ground about half a mile away from the next house, he sat down in a sand dune that was covered with little shrubs here and there. He nestled into the sand which happily reminded him of snow somehow. Jack Frost knew now that he was not the reason for it to snow anywhere but he could manipulate the weather to a certain extent, he could either increase the falling of snow or make it stop altogether.  
The boy slept for a while then, in this unfamiliar place. But spring caught up with him here as well.  
When he awoke his cheeks burned and his skin felt sticky. He looked around. There was no one in sight. He might as well cool himself off a little now. He wondered why this hadn't occurred to him before. Jumping into the air he twirled and held up the staff. After a moment the first snow flakes started falling around him, as well as a blissfully cool breeze reaching him.  
As soon as he had gotten things going he sat back down, pleased with his work. He welcomed every snowflake falling to the ground.  
Now that he did not need to worry about that awful heat anymore he made his way to the village.  
Around the few houses was a vast landscape of sand and shrubbery. It looked like nothing he had ever seen before.  
He spotted a child, skipping from bush to bush. It looked like it was searching for something.  
Curious, Jack flew nearer. He looked down and saw what the child was carrying in a basket: Eggs. But not like the eggs he had seen the townspeople gather from their chicken. These were brightly colored, in blues and pinks, yellows and reds.  
As the child became aware of the snowflakes falling it looked up, clearly annoyed and ran back to the nearest house, quickly slipping back inside.  
Jack lowered himself down, enough so that his feet made contact with the rough ground and inspected one of the colored eggs.  
Something hit him in the shins then. Hard.  
He involuntary slumped to the ground. What was that? Jack caught a glimpse of something ripping through the air. It was caught by what had to be the biggest hare he had ever set eyes on.  
It was about 3 heads taller than himself and its fur looked strange, with dark markings and longer sections of hair around its neck.  
"Hey!" it shouted. "What the heck are you doin' there?" The hare asked with a very strange accent.  
Jack was busy rubbing his shins. He didn't care much for the tone of voice that rabbit had going either.  
The hare pointed at him with the strange throwing device, as if threatening to throw it at Jack again.  
"I said: What are you doin' 'ere?"  
Jack looked up at the creature, annoyed and just said: "Nothing."  
The hare eyed him suspiciously for a moment, still in battle pose. He, Jack was pretty sure it was a "he" judging by the sound of its voice, cocked his head to the side and said: "You're the new guy, aren't ya?"  
Jack said nothing. He didn't even know what Mr. Fur here was referring to in the first place.  
"So you are the one making it snow here, huh?", the hare kept going on. "Do you want to ruin my day here, boy?"  
The condescending tone of this fellow really had Jack's blood boiling, he felt the anger rise up in him. This caused the flurry of snow to get heavier.  
"Stop that!" the hare cried out, clearly angry as well. He stomped with his huge feet and and threw his weapon again.  
Jack flew up some forty feet into the air, avoiding the wooden curved thing. "You stop it! What have I done to you, hare?" he asked, swallowing his anger for a moment.  
The hare picked up his weapon and glowered at him. "I'm not a hare. 'N even though it's none of ya business,... the name's E. Aster Bunnymund. 'N I'm a bunny. The Easter bunny, to be precise. So... who are you again?"  
Jack stared down at the Easter bunny. "Not that it is any of your business, but my name is Jack Frost."  
They both stared at each other for a moment. Then Bunnymund laughed. It was not a friendly laugh.  
"Alright, I've had enough", Jack muttered. He closed his eyes and let the anger he felt wash over him. He could feel the wind around him becoming stronger, the snowflakes turning into icy blades.  
When he opened his eyes again, he could hardly see Bunnymund standing down there.  
Time to leave. Jack shot up into the sky and was gone.


	4. As Time Passes (Interlude)

Days passed and years followed. Jack learned more about the world during his travels and soon he knew when best to leave certain places and where to go to keep cool when spring took a firm hold of the towns and landscapes he had before graced with his presence and the snow flurries and frozen waters.  
He had seen many things, some wondrous, some horrible. He had watched generations of children playing gleefully in the snow. He had witnessed wars and flown over vast and later silent battlefields.  
More than once had he covered the fallen soldiers under a thick blanket of snow, simply because he could not bear to look at their broken bodies.


	5. The Sandman

Things around him had changed a great deal in the past years, there were machines now that transported the humans from one place to another faster than any horse carriage ever could and some time later he found out they had even invented things that helped them fly!  
Jack took notice of all this but never cared much for any of it.  
What he did care about were the children. They noticed what he did, at least a little. They liked the snow he made, they cherished playing in it. And some years later, when he made it snow really hard, he had overheard them say that they didn't even have to go to school because of the snowfall, which made them very happy, of course. He liked children. Jack knew that his best chance to ever be heard by someone was by a child.

As the wind had told him there were others, much like him. He figured that the Easter Bunny was one of them. Their actions were also mainly targeted at children. They brought them presents to get their attention, they left colored eggs or money to get them to notice them. "Pathetic", Jack had said to no one in particular when he learned of that. They called themselves "Guardians", but as far as Jack had seen they did not do much to earn that name. And what could they do to protect children, anyway?  
The only Guardian that Jack had liked right from the moment he had met him was the Sandman.  
A short round and well, sandy little fellow with yellow golden hair and amber eyes who always smiled. The first time Jack Frost had seen Sandman was during a clear winter night in a rather large city. Jack had flown over dark brick buildings that spat out thick black smoke during the day time from long round chimneys. They were called "factories" and many humans spent most of their days in there. Jack had never really bothered to think about what they were doing inside there, although he was sure it could not be all that fun.  
Jack was sitting on one of those chimneys, looking over the town. A glowing golden bird shot by his head. It looked like a swallow but it glowed as if it had a fire burning inside its feathery body.  
Jack jumped to follow it. He noticed the trail the bird was carrying behind. He looked back to see where the golden thread would end. He squinted and saw a faint golden cloud in the dark sky. The cloud shifted and now it looked like one of those zeppelins that were all the rage with the humans at the moment. It shifted once more and looked like a castle.  
When Jack turned his head he found the swallow had flown inside a house, one of those with many floors and crammed little rooms filled with too many people. Jack never liked to watch these children, they seemed like grownups to him. No hope or happiness in their eyes.  
As he looked through the window he could see one of the kids inside tossing and turning in her sleep. The bird began circling above the girl's head. The child immediately became calmer, she pulled up the blanket and smiled, still fast asleep.  
Jack couldn't help but smile as he watched this, this bird was some sort of magic, sent from the cloud castle in the sky.  
Flying towards the cloud he found it was bigger than he had expected. Now the clouds had taken the shape of a ship, its golden sails hoisted and fluttering in the wind.  
On the deck stood a little figure. He could not have been much taller than three feet.  
Jack Frost called out to the strange fellow. "Hello!" The little man looked up from the wheel and waved at him, smiling. Jack landed on the deck.  
He noticed how the clouds felt not as soft as they should have. He scooped up a handful of cloud. Golden sand trickled from his palm.  
The little golden man slowly came up to him. Jack look at him for a moment, wide-eyed. "Who are you?", he asked. The man said nothing. Instead little images appeared over his head. They shifted and changed like the sand-cloud they were riding on, but much faster.  
Jack looked puzzled at the changing sand images and slightly shook his head.  
The man sighed soundlessly, held out his palm and blew some sand into Jack's eyes.

Jack opened his eyes and rubbed away the sand from his eyes.  
He had dreamed. He jumped up and flew over to Sandman who was sitting on the coach box of what looked like a giant carriage, pulled by at least twenty sandy golden horses.  
He happily shook Sandman's hand. "Thanks for that dream, Sandy, I can call you Sandy, right?" Jack eagerly asked. He had really enjoyed dreaming. And Sandman had made a point of showing him what it was that he was doing. "You are really doing a great job here, Sandy. Bringing the children happy dreams and giving them hope like that."  
Sandy looked content, although he seemed to look like that most of the time. A little image of a four-leafed clover appeared. Then it took the shape of something that almost had Jack fall from the coach box. It clearly was an image of the Easter Bunny.  
"What does he have to do with it?", Jack asked.  
Several images later Jack concluded: "So, Bunnymund is the one responsible for Hope in the world? And there is a man showing wonder to the children by giving out presents, Santa Claus?" A compass appeared above Sandy's head. The needle of the compass moved. "North", Jack said. "He's called North. And Tooth, she takes the teeth to collect and keep the memories of children safe?" Sandman nodded.  
Jack's head felt like a beehive, all the information buzzing about looking for a place to settle.  
Sandman shot Jack a sympathetic look and patted him on the back.  
Another sign appeared over his head.  
"Oh", Jack said, slightly disappointed. "I see", he quickly added. "Sure I didn't mean to keep you from what you are doing, sorry."  
Sandman smiled and turned his attention to the town below them. He put down the reigns and held out his arms. Warm golden threads spread from his hands and gracefully shot down towards the roofs of the houses below them, carrying numerous images with them. "Good dream making, Sandy", Jack called out to the Sandman as he left him.


	6. The Glimpse of a Shadow

One day Jack found himself in a strange city in a place he later learned was called Venice in a country called Italy. As he was flying through the narrow streets that were riddled with canals, a dark shadow appeared in front of him.  
It looked like a man and at the same time it looked like nothing Jack had ever set eyes on.  
The silhouette was shifting, both in size and opacity, one moment it was slender and its outlines crystal-clear, the next it was blurry and grotesquely blown up.  
With some effort the apparition wafted over to a corner of a house. The wall the shadow was leaning against was covered in an elaborate painting of a beautiful woman but the paint was flaking off here and there and water strains spoiled the beauty of the face so it looked more creepy and sad than anything else.  
Jack Frost kept hovering over the canal that was flowing past the house, watching the shadow attentively. It seemed like it was struggling to gain substance.  
Then the figure seemed to become blacker and Jack could even make out some facial features. The shadow had a cruel face with a curved nose.  
"I know you", the shadow said.  
Jack eyed him suspiciously then, holding up his staff defensively. "Is that so?", he asked.  
"Oh, indeed." the shadow said, his voice smooth as dark silk.  
"And I believe I know quite a bit more about you than you do yourself, Jack Frost." He was stretching the 's' so long it had Jack thinking of a snake that had learned how to speak.  
Jack shrugged, unimpressed. "Well, good for you, nice meeting you, but I really gotta get going." He turned to leave. Before jumping to catch the next breeze he looked back at the dark figure standing in the there corner.  
"See you, Jack. If you should ever find yourself in need of a friend to talk to, I'll be...", he paused here, and Jack could think of no other reason than him doing so solely for dramatic emphasis, "around."  
"I really don't think so, _friend_", Jack muttered as he let himself be carried away by the wind.


	7. The Tooth

Jack stood at a window of a now dark room and was looking inside. His breath had patterns of frost spreading on the glass.  
The child inside had just gone to bed. Jack had watched him doing something curious: The boy had lost a tooth earlier that day, in a little accident which had involved a telephone pole, a sleigh, a sheet of ice and the kid's inability to steer his own sleigh properly. (Not Jack's fault, nah.)  
The boy had stuck his head out of the heap of snow he had crashed into and opened his mouth. He had reached into it and pulled out his tooth. Oddly enough the child had not seemed upset but rather excited.  
So Jack had followed him for the rest of the day, waiting outside his room, curious to find out what the child would do with the tooth. Jack had never learned how to enter houses unless doors or windows were left opened.  
As the boy had crawled into his bed he had placed the little white tooth under his pillow and happily gone to sleep a few moments later.  
Jack really wondered what that was all about. Then he heard something. It was different from the usual noises the humans produced. It sounded eerily real to him, clearer than anything he had heard before. It was a humming sound mixed with birdlike chirping. Except no bird he knew of was able to make these sort of sounds.  
Then he saw it. With ease the colorful little hummingbird slipped into the room of the sleeping boy and disappeared under the pillow. It came out the other side, holding the tooth in its-... hands. Jack realized now that it was no bird. It had feathers like one but the face was more human.  
He hid next to the window frame and waited for the little creature to come out again.  
When he heard the humming come closer he quickly reached out, feeling the fluttering of tiny wings in his palm. The creature was chirping frantically. Something sharp dug into Jack's palm. "Ow", he exclaimed, tightening his grip a little more. He heard a pained chirp and immediately felt guilty. He carefully opened his palm and took a closer look at the little fairy.  
Because that was what it was: A tooth fairy. Jack remembered what Sandman had told him about Toothiana, the Tooth Fairy then.  
Of course, this was only one of her helpers. After all, she couldn't be everywhere at the same time. The little thing had taken the tooth and in change left some money for the child.  
Jack despised this somehow. She was bribing the kids with cheap coins to get their attention. They only believed in her because she left them something as petty as money.  
Jack had never understood the use of all that.  
But still, Jack had always wanted to visit her realm, he had overheard the wind whispering that it really was something to see.  
Maybe the fairy could take him there, then. But by the looks of it he had crushed one of her delicate dragonfly wings.  
He noticed how the fairy was rubbing its tiny hands over its eyes now. It was...crying?  
The pang of guilt he felt was unbearable. He awkwardly patted the fairy's head with one finger. "There, there ", he said. It shot him a hurt and reproachful look and poked at his finger again with its beak-like nose.  
He pulled back his hand and sucked on the fingertip until the bleeding stopped.  
"Look, I am sorry, alright? I didn't mean to hurt you. If you tell me the way I will take you back home." He inspected the little red dot on his finger. "Sharp as a needle, huh."  
The tooth fairy's helper crossed its short arms and pouted. Jack sighed, cradling the fairy in his open palm. "I'm really sorry. Please?", he asked.  
The fairy seemed satisfied by this. It looked around for a moment, its head twitching faster than the eye could follow. It pointed into a direction and chirped.  
"That's more like it", Jack murmured and flew through the streets, obediently following the little fairy's orders


	8. Toothiana's Palace

Jack did not have the best sense of time to begin with but flying all over the globe only led by the directions of the Tooth fairy's little helper had him wondering how long this trip was taking them.  
They reached some sort of valley. Below them was a deep gorge filled with yellow water. The scenery was dominated by strange yellow and red stone structures. And some trees. The sun was just setting and the whole place looked so beautiful dipped in the orange golden glow that Jack even forgot about the warmth that would usually have bothered him.  
The fairy squealed excitedly, directing him to head for the structure that floated in the sky ahead of them. "Is this the Tooth Fairy's palace?" Jack asked, his jaw dropping for a moment.  
"Wow", he exclaimed as he flew closer. He saw a figure hovering in the air, on top of one of the structures.  
She was shouting orders at little flying dots, her helpers: "13b Maple Street, left canine, go, hurry it up", Tooth Fairy said in a stern voice, that still maintained a beautiful and kind quality.  
"Oh, little accident in Susunogawa, both upper central incisors, better get going, here is a 100-yen coin, go", she said and then noticed Jack approaching.  
Her wings whirred with a soft humming sound and her feathers were more beautiful than anything Jack had ever seen.  
"Why hello there", she said kindly but her expression was puzzled. "And you are...?"  
Jack was mesmerized by the Fairy's sheer beauty. He opened his palm to show her the small fairy. "Uhm", he stuttered, "I happened to find on of your, uh... little helpers and she seemed to be hurt so I-" Tooth Fairy gasped worriedly and zoomed towards him. "Oh my, are you alright?", she paid no attention to Jack anymore. She took the fairy in her delicate feathered hands and stroked the smaller fairy's cheek. "Don't worry, I'll fix you right up. Let's get you back to hall C." She kept talking to the little figure in her hand and disappeared into what was apparently Hall C.  
Jack hovered in the air, a little uncertain whether it was best to stay or leave now.  
He waited for a while, taking in more of the beautiful details of the Tooth Fairy's palace.  
Just as he had made up his mind to leave a small fairy came flying towards him. It chirped and pointed towards the palace.  
Jack wondered whether it was the same fairy whose wing he had crushed, but no, it couldn't be.  
Also if it had been the same fairy Jack was sure it would have taken another shot at poking him with its beak. He followed the fairy to a large room inside the palace. The interior burst with color and arch structures. Tiny multicolored windows let in the soft evening light from everywhere.  
The place buzzed with the bustling of a beehive, the tiny fairies carrying teeth and shiny coins from here to there.  
Jack looked around, amazed, as he heard the voice of the Tooth Fairy again: "I am sorry to have kept you waiting, my dear", she said, shaking his hand enthusiastically.  
"This place is beautiful", Jack said, his eyes still taking in the richness of details in the room. Then he looked at the Tooth Fairy, her delicate hand still holding his. "I am Jack. Jack Frost."  
"Wonderful! My name is Toothiana, but you can call me Tooth", she said with a pleasant smile. Jack's ears felt hot all of a sudden.  
Tooth's head twitched around as though she seemed to hear something that Jack could not. Suddenly she barked "Himmelsstrasse 34a, Frankfurt, first upper molar, right side and second lower premolar left side in Suvorovsky , St. Petersburg. Get going, ladies!"  
Jack had stepped back, a little baffled by the power with which Tooth had just given out her orders.  
Tooth looked at him as though she had just remembered that he was even there. Seeming a little embarrassed now she said: "Oh I am so sorry, I rarely ever have visitors here. Come, let's sit down and have some honey tea, hm?"

Jack tentatively sipped from the golden cup in his hand. The liquid inside was just as golden and tasted sweet. Like flowers. He didn't mind flowers but they also reminded him of Spring. And Spring reminded him of Bunny. And the big fight they had the other year. He was pretty sure next time they met things would get pretty unpleasant.  
Jack snapped out of his brooding and looked at the Tooth Fairy. She was holding her cup in her hands and delicately sipped from it every now and then.  
"So, what brings you to this world, Jack Frost?" she finally asked.  
Jack did not know how to respond to that. He scratched his head and shyly looked away.  
"Oh, you don't know, do you? Poor you, has Moon not talked to you?" She looked genuinely worried.  
"Uh, he did. He told me my name. And that was about all he ever said to me."  
Toothiana looked out of one of the open arches and stared into the night.  
"What is it that you are good at then, Jack?" she asked.  
"Oh", Jack sighed and thought about this for a moment. "I can make it snow, freeze water and fly with the help of the wind."  
Tooth smiled at him. She seemed to wait for him to say more.  
"I don't know", Jack said, the words flowing out of him with more ease now. "When I make a snowball and throw it at a child, they won't know who hit them but they like it and will start a snow ball fight with each other. Or when I freeze a lake or a river, they go ice skating. They seem to like what I do."  
Was it the honey drink in his tummy or was he just going crazy, somehow his head felt light and his mouth just kept blabbering.  
"But that is lovely", she exclaimed and refilled his cup. "You are bringing them fun, Jack."  
Jack felt his cheeks burning up. "Yeah, I guess."


	9. Toothiana's Advice

"If you want to know more about the Man in the Moon, you might want to talk to Nicholas, he talks frequently to Moon, at least much more often than I do", Tooth said with an encouraging smile. Her eyes were fixed on a tiny tooth fairy in front of her.  
"Uh, you mean", he pointed his finger at the little fairy. "...him?"  
Both the little fairy and Toothiana laughed simultaneously and Jack realized their connection was a lot closer than he had imagined. "No, Nicholas, or just North some call him, is a friend of mine. You will find his Workshop at the north pole."  
Jack realized he had not been to the north pole yet. He had seen maps of the world and round things that resembled the Earth's shape in the houses of the humans a lot and he had memorized the locations of the seas and the continents. He could fly blindly and still end up right where he meant to. He knew his way around. But even though the wind had whispered to him how beautifully cold and still it was at the poles, Jack had never felt any desire to go there. Because, and this the wind hadn't told him, it also had to be very empty there. No human being would want to live in a place as freezing and isolated as the pole.  
Now that he thought about it, it made perfect sense for a "Guardian" to hide out there, undisturbed by humans. But Jack did not want to hide. He liked being around people. If only they could see him...  
Snapping out of his thoughts, Jack carefully put down his cup onto the golden tray that lay between him and the Tooth Fairy.  
"Thank you so much for the-", he tried to remember the word. "Hospitality, thank you for your hospitality. And the advice. I think I will pay North a visit then."  
Toothiana smiled, her perfect feathers ruffled by a slight breeze.  
She put her small feathered hand on Jack's larger and much paler one and said: "My pleasure, Jack. But you must be tired, why don't you just stay the night here and leave tomorrow morning, it's a really long trip from here, you know."  
The feeling of the Fairy's soft hand on his was warm but pleasant and it had his heart beating faster, how long had it been since he had touched anyone? Since anyone had been able to touch him?  
But he somehow felt like he needed to leave. The slight breeze coming in from the open window arches teased him, coaxing him to come outside and be taken away.  
"This is very considerate and I...thank you but I really should be going", Jack said awkwardly and stood up. He climbed onto the sill of the glassless window. Suddenly his head was spinning so bad he would almost have toppled over. Jack still managed to throw himself ungracefully back onto one of the cushions on the floor.  
The Tooth Fairy shrieked. "Oh my, are you alright? I told you, you must be exhausted and the honey tea did the rest." Jack blinked rapidly for a couple of times. "Did what rest?" he asked, still lying awkwardly on the sitting cushion.  
"It replenishes your energy, helps you relax and sleep well. You see, we are all so busy all the time, this is the kind of thing we need when we get back here after a long day of work."  
"I think I will take you up on your offer for a sleeping place then."  
"Wonderful", Tooth replied and eagerly pulled him up to his feet. "I will take you to Hall E, you can sleep in the North American quarter."  
As she pulled Jack effortlessly into the air, flying with him over to the next building she kept making comments about all sorts of things but he felt so overwhelmingly exhausted that little of what Tooth said made its way into Jack's brain.  
Tooth showed him to a large room. There was a large bed on the floor that appeared to consist mostly of fluffy purple and green pillows. "Rest well, Jack" Toothiana said softly and left him there.  
Jack dragged himself over to the bed and simply let himself slump into the heap of pillows, falling into a dreamless sleep.  
The boy was awoken by the hectic mixing of the chirping noises of thousands and thousands of tooth fairies. He had apparently spent the night in their sleeping quarters.  
Jack Frost rubbed his eyes and now he could see all the tiny beds the walls held.  
A single fairy approached him. It chirped and flashed its perfect tiny teeth in a broad smile.  
It seemed to want something from him, gesturing with its small hands and chirping enthusiastically.  
Jack slightly shook his head. "Sorry, little one, I am afraid I can't understand what you're saying."  
The tooth fairy trilled and zoomed in so close it was right up in Jack's face.  
"Hey", he managed to say before he felt the tiny hands prying open his mouth.  
He turned away his head instinctively but the tooth fairy held tightly on to his right lower canine and would not let go.  
"Baby Tooth, stop that immediately!", he heard a stern voice call out. Toothiana.  
The fairy Baby Tooth retreated from the corner of Jack's mouth and smiled apologetically.  
"I am sorry", Toothiana said to Jack and then with a much sterner voice to Baby Tooth: "What have I told you about not disgracing the uniform, huh? Better get to work, little lady."  
Baby Tooth took off with drooping feathers.  
"It's fine, no problem, really", Jack reassured quickly. "But what was that all about?"  
Tooth looked at him. "Oh, I guess she just wanted to get a good look at your teeth."  
Jack's hand involuntarily moved up to his lips. "Oh." "Teeth are our passion, after all", Tooth said, shrugging apologetically.  
"What do you collect them for, anyway?"  
"You don't know?"  
Jack shook his head. Then he remembered what Sandman had told him through his images.  
"I think Sandy told me you collect them to keep the children safe. It has something to do with the-...memories?"  
"Yes!" Toothiana said excitedly. "Exactly! It has everything to do with the memories, Jack. The baby teeth hold the most precious memories of the children. We collect them and store them here, safely. That is what we are here for."  
"Is that what makes you a Guardian?" Jack asked pensively.  
Tooth seemed a little perplex for a moment. "Yes, I am the Guardian of Memories. And Sandy, seeing that you already met him, is the Guardian of-" "Dreams", Jack finished her sentence. "I know."  
"Correct. And Nicholas and Bunnymund are Guardians too, there were times when we worked very closely together but lately we don't get together as often anymore." Tooth sighed and Jack couldn't help but think she looked quite lonely for a moment.  
"Oh, I met Bunnymund. He's...quite peculiar, isn't he?"  
This had a smile appear on Tooth's lips and to Jack her laughter sounded as clear and beautiful as the voice of the wind. "So I have heard about you before, Jack Frost." Tooth smiled. "Bunnymund was quite upset about your meeting that day, he told me about it."  
"Oops." Jack cursed under his breath. "I guess we didn't exactly have the best start."  
"You should probably apologize to him next time you see him, you see we all take our work very seriously. And it's the Easter Bunny's job to bring Spring and new life to the world. Your frost and snow and fragile new blossoms don't mix too well, I am afraid. So maybe next time when you see him hide eggs...don't go causing a blizzard."  
"Well he was the one starting the fight", Jack thought but didn't say it out loud.  
"Alright. I am sorry. I never meant to interfere with anyone of your Guardians' work." Jack walked about the room, dodging a flying fairy every now and then. "It's just", he said, lazily folding his hands behind his head. "Until I met Sandman, and that was just by accident, I didn't even know that you guys even existed. I thought I was the only one..."  
Tooth flew closer to him, and hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder. "Jack I am so sorry, until recently I did not know that Moon had chosen someone new, and if our work were not keeping us so busy all the time, I can assure you that we would have come and introduced ourselves to you."  
"Right." It had meant to be said with a laugh but it had come out more like a scoff. Jack picked up his staff and jumped onto the window sill. With a tight smile on his lips he said: "Thank you so much for your help, Toothiana. I hope we do meet again some time." And with that he was gone.  
"I hope so too, Jack Frost." Tooth answered although she knew he could not hear it anymore. Her feathers drooped and her smile had vanished. Her head snapped around, sensing something.  
"Calle de Santo Domingo 17, Cartagena, Colombia. Second upper molar", she mouthed automatically, sending one of her many helpers away, providing her with a coin.


	10. A Second Meeting - Pitch Black

As the wind carried him back to more familiar regions Jack realized what it was that had made him so upset. Toothiana, Sandy... even grouchy old Bunnymund, they all were busy doing their "work". They knew exactly what they were here for. He on the other hand, did not. From the day the Man in the Moon had brought him into this world Jack Frost had been wondering why he had done so. What was his purpose in this world? Was he really meant to wander the places and ages of this world never noticed by anyone?  
Even Tooth's kindness had just felt like another stab at that sore spot that burned in the back of his mind.  
It was fear.  
The fear that no one would ever notice him. Even if he wanted to, he could not go about and simply give out presents and bribes to children to get their attention. It didn't work for him this way.

Night had fallen and Jack flew over a vast and dark landscape, the light of the moon was weak, clouds shrouding it.  
Something in the air felt strange. The darkness surrounding him was so thick it seemed almost palpable. Something crept up his ankle. He instinctively swung around and shot a blast of ice into the darkness below him.  
All of a sudden the wind receded. Jack let out a surprised yelp as he fell.  
The ground came closer with dangerous speed as gravity was tugging at the boy's light body.  
There was nothing to hold onto. No wind, not a breeze, nothing. Squeezing his eyes shut he prepared himself for the landing.  
He felt a sharp yank at the back of his shirt. No pain followed.  
Tentatively opening one eye Jack Frost looked around.  
A tall figure stood right next to him, holding him up by the collar of his ragged shirt.  
Jack wriggled around, trying to free himself. "Let go of me", he shouted.  
The hand let go. Jack spat out dirt as he picked himself up from the ground, dusting off his trousers.  
"A good evening to you to, Jack."  
Jack squinted into the darkness. "Who are you?"  
"Oh, you don't remember me? I must admit, I am a little hurt, Jack. I have been thinking about our first meeting quite a lot lately."  
"The shadow in Venice", Jack whispered. And yes, now he saw him more clearly. The dark looming shadow, the gray face with the iridescent eyes.  
"Well, you never told me your name, so what could I have remembered you by?"  
"Oh yes, how rude of me", the shadow laughed. He approached Jack carefully and extended his hand towards him.  
"The name is Pitch. Pitch Black, and it is a pleasure to see you again, Jack Frost."  
Jack just looked at Pitch's dark long fingers and up at his face again.  
There was a moment of silence.  
A glimmer of anger appeared on Pitch's face but faded as quickly as it had come. He reluctantly pulled back his hand and coughed. "So much for pleasantries", he said.  
"What is it that you want with me?" Jack asked, his hands tightening their grip on the wooden staff.  
"I have an offer to make, Jack."  
"An offer?"  
"Yes. I have noticed that you seem quite...restless lately and I know that you are seeking for a purpose in your life."  
"You don't know anything about me."  
"Oh but I do. I also know that we are quite alike my friend. We were both brought into this world and ever since... the Man in the Moon has shunned us."  
At the mentioning of Moon Jack's head shot around. He looked at Pitch.  
"You are-... Moon has", Jack began. "Yes, I am like you Jack. The Man in the Moon created me, just like he created you. That day on the lake." Pitch said, his voice dark and almost hypnotically smooth.  
"The others, they don't care about us, they are too busy tangled up in their idiotic work." Pitch scoffed.  
"You mean the Guardians?"  
"If that is what they call themselves. You see, Jack: They form their little party and we could make quite a team as well."  
Jack's thoughts were racing. Even though Pitch seemed to be a little on the odd side he seemed genuine about what he had said about Moon. And he had a point. The Guardians didn't care about him. They didn't even like him, as far as Bunnymund was concerned.  
"What were you thinking of?" Jack asked, lowering the staff a little.  
Pitch smiled, revealing crooked, gray teeth. "I knew you would reconsider."


	11. The Offer - Ice and Shadows

"To reconsider I would have to consider first, don't I?"  
Pitch laughed softly. "Oh, very smart, Jack. Indeed." He sighed theatrically. "It was not my intention to push you into something you do not truly wish to do. I will give you some more time to think about my offer." Pitch turned his dark back to Jack and stared up into the black sky.  
For a moment Jack considered the option to simply slip away into the darkness. But he was pretty sure Pitch would have found him out effortlessly, after all he seemed to be made from shadows and this here was his terrain and his advantage.  
"And what makes you think we are so alike?" he asked instead.  
Pitch was silent for a while. Finally he answered: "I have seen you. You are alone. You have no one to turn to. The Guardians have not welcomed you and couldn't care less about your existence. But you are quite powerful, I know that. And I believe if we joined our forces, we could achieve a great deal, Jack."  
"Like what?" "Jack", Pitch said his name with the sort of intimacy in his voice that suggested a bond of friendship between them older than time itself. "The gifts the Man in the Moon gave us, they complement each other perfectly.  
Jack cocked his head, knitting his brow. "And what is your _gift_?"  
"My home are the shadows. I can go anywhere at any time I wish, as long as there are shadows. I can summon images the humans can see, drawing on the walls of their homes with my shadows, much like you do with frost."  
"And to what effect?" Jack asked suspiciously. Something seemed to be strange about what Pitch was saying.  
"With the effect that the humans are scared. Fear is the most powerful emotion human beings are able to conjure, Jack. If you learn how to use this fear, you can gain unimaginable power."  
Fear...? Jack shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Something about Pitch's words made him uncomfortable, with unease he was reminded of his own fears and he knew how unpleasant it felt to carry these emotions around within one's heart.  
"I don't quite see how I could gain anything from scaring up the humans, really."  
"Oh, Jack. Why so naive? To get them to notice you, of course."  
"The humans can see you...?", Jack whispered in disbelief.  
"Oh yes, Jack. And their pathetic little hearts grow ever so cold when they do. You could be seen too. And feared. They will have to notice you when we work together. As a team. Think about it: Ice and Shadows, Dark and Cold. We are like two parts of one. Like Yin and Yang." He brought his slender hands together, intertwining his long fingers in a gesture of unity.  
Jack frowned. "What?"  
"Never mind", Pitch said quickly. "Sorry, I am afraid I was getting a little carried away."  
'Ice and Shadows', Jack thought.  
It was no secret that Jack liked the night, he thrived in the dark. The days in winter were short and cold and he felt best in the small hours of the night when the air was clear and temperatures dropped even lower than during daytime.  
This could work. But did he really need an ally? And what would it feel like to make the humans afraid of him? He knew very well that most of what he did was at least annoying to them, the sheets of ice and heaps of snow he created were rarely greeted with enthusiasm.  
What did he owe to the humans?  
Nothing, really. They had never done anything for him. They didn't even see him.  
"What do you have to lose, Jack? I can show you what it is that I do and if you don't like it, you are free to go anywhere at any time, isn't it so?"  
That was true. There was nothing at stake here. It was worth a try.  
Pitch had turned around, looking at him with expectation and eagerness in his eyes.  
Jack stuck the pointed end of the staff into the ground and walked over to Pitch.  
He extended his hand. Pitch smiled and gladly shook it. "We are going to have a lot of fun, dear friend."


	12. A New Ally

The sun was setting and the trees were casting long shadows across the frozen lake. The lake where Jack had awoken. It happened such a long time ago but Jack Frost had always felt drawn back to it, every winter he would come to the small town, land on the clearing in the middle of the woods and visit the lake.  
He would have been lying if he had said that he was not anxious when he brought Pitch here with him.  
"So show me what you can do", Pitch said calmly, a glint of eagerness in his eyes.  
"Like... what, make it snow?" Jack asked a little uncertain.  
"That's a good start, yes."  
Jack closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. So far he had always experienced problems with conjuring up snow on command. His mood had to be right, the intenser his feelings were, the easier it came to him and right now his heart was small and fluttering nervously in his chest and he had no idea how to gain control over the air in the condition he was in.  
Jumping up into the air he nervously looked down at the frozen surface of the lake that was so familiar to him, while his new ally stood there, expectantly.  
Jack held out his left hand, the other was wrapped around his trusty staff. Eyes still closed he concentrated on the touch of coldness in the air, trying to work with that. His staff hummed and through his half-closed eyelids Jack could see it was glowing now in a lovely icy white-blue. He closed his eyes again, trying to shut out his surroundings as not to let anything distract him.  
A few moments later he heard his companion say: "Rather impressive, my friend."  
He looked down at Pitch, who was gracefully walking over the frozen surface of the lake holding out his hands to catch the falling snowflakes.  
An involuntary laugh escaped Jack's lips then and he flew down to meet with Pitch on the ground.  
He had done it! He could make it snow on his own will now.


	13. A Growing Friendship

Pitch had suggested to continue in the nearby town. As they passed by the houses and walked the cobblestone streets Jack could not help but be amazed by how much this place had changed over time. The streets were almost empty, there were only a few people walking in the early winter dark. Pitch silently pointed towards a man who was huffing and cursing, carrying a large wooden box. Jack focused on the human. He pointed the staff at the ground just a couple of feet in front of the man, creating a thick sheet of ice. As the man slipped the box went flying and landed with a satisfying crash on the cobblestones. Broken bits and pieces of white china were strewn over the street. Jack turned to look at his ally who was walking beside him and now laughing delightedly. An uncertain smile found its way to the boy's lips. He felt proud. "Great work, Jack." Pitch gave him an approving pat on the shoulder. "Thanks", Jack answered, a little flustered by the unexpected but welcome gesture and he could not help but feel flattered.

First it were little things, like creating sheets of ice on the ground and make people slip. Or send icy breezes so cold it would sometimes make the humans tremble so badly they would drop whatever they were carrying. Their distress soon became rewarding for Jack. The sound of objects that were dear and important to the humans crashing, hitting the floor was soon music in his ears, their wails and complaints even more so.  
Soon he learned to cause even more grief. He conjured up blizzards and weeks over weeks where the snow would not cease to fall. The humans were forced to either stay inside their homes or go outside for food and all their other pathetic needs and risk freezing off some their limbs.  
During this time the world was beautiful. It was perfect. With short hours of what little light could fight its way through the thick snow-burdened clouds and long nights stretching between them, Jack was happy. The layer of snow was thick and never-melting, Spring stood no chance against him and his powerful ally. No heat, no awful new green no smelly flowers and most importantly: No Bunnymund.

What Jack had learned about his new ally was that Pitch was a character full of contradictions: On the one hand he seemed rather serious, at first he rarely even looked at Jack, he would simply stare into the air, a stern look on his face. After a while Jack noticed a change in Pitch: He would often tell long but fascinating or genuinely funny stories to him. Those were the times when the winter spirit saw his new friend smile, often seemingly lost in memories of a better past. Sometimes Pitch would not speak a single word to the boy and then again there were times where he seemed to be eager to fill every second of silence with his words and would keep talking for hours. Sometimes he seemed to want to keep his distance to Jack and every so often he would give the boy a reassuring pat on the back or touch his arm nonchalantly when he was pointing something out to him.  
Jack Frost quickly learned how to deal with the sudden mood swings of his ally. He did not mind at all. He was happy about the company, he savored every friendly word and every occasional touch. It was satisfying to finally have a place in this world. His place, he was certain was beside Pitch, although he had yet to find out how they could combine darkness and frost most effectively.

Both sitting on a dark sand cloud, one of Pitch's more recent creations, they overlooked the scape of a city that spread so wide you could not even see where it began and where it stopped being a city, Jack asked his new found ally: "Pitch, how exactly are we going to gain anything from what I can do? What can my frost achieve that will make the humans believe in us?"  
"Cold means... cold promises Death, Jack." "So, ...we kill them?" "Oh, goodness, no. That's quite dark, Jack... and even though I really like your line of thought... no. We don't get much out of them if we actually did kill them. But what we can do is make them fear that they are going to die."

"Can I ask you something?" Jack took a seat next to the self-proclaimed Nightmare King.  
Pitch's iridescent eyes were now fixed on the winter spirit. "Of course. What is it that you want to know?" "How long have you been around in this world exactly?" The hint of worry vanished from Pitch's face and was replaced by a melancholic half smile. "I am... not as old as people might think but much older than any of the Guardians." "Even older than the Sandman?" "A lot older. I have reason to believe Sanderson was chosen by the Man in the Moon solely because he feared I had become too powerful. And eventually, so were the other Guardians."  
"Has Moon ever talked to you?" "He used to. But that was a long time ago. Last we spoke was in...1531." Jack silently tried to count back but then suddenly was not so sure any more what year it was. Was it 1890? Or was it 1990 already...? Could he really be walking the Earth for more than 200 years now? Pitch put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Don't worry so much about time, my friend. Time is a concept that doesn't affect us." Jack nodded slowly, still counting with his fingers.

"And have you ever considered becoming a Guardian?" Jack asked. The boogeyman scoffed. "Of course not. The Guardians came some time after me. They were chosen by the Man in the Moon to fight me."  
This surprised Jack. He never had considered the Guardians to be warriors. Except for the Pooka who seemed to like picking fights, they all seemed rather calm and peace loving, especially Sandy and Tooth.  
"They... fight you?" "Oh yes. Fervently. Relentlessly. They think they defeated me, long ago. They are certain they broke me. All I ever wanted is some people to believe in me. You must know, I had a great many believers back in the day... those were darker times, beautiful times. Every child in the world believed in Nightmares and they feared me. Even the adults were utterly afraid of the dark. And look at them now!" Pitch seemed genuinely upset.  
"I'm sorry", Jack said awkwardly since he did not know what else to say. He had never seen the Nightmare King this upset. „That's quite alright, my friend", Pitch said and his face lit up a little as he looked at Jack. With a sorrowful smile he continued: „Well. At least now I don't have to spend my days hiding away from them alone anymore." Jack liked the feel of Pitch's hand on his shoulder. He smiled back at his new found friend and turned his gaze up at the Moon. „But... why did the Man in the Moon choose us to be...what we are then? And why does he need the Guardians to fight us? Wouldn't it have made more sense if he simply...didn't put us here at all?" "The Man in the Moon is nothing more than a spoiled and bored little brat, really. He doesn't care about anything that is happening in this world", Pitch spat, his anger surfacing. "But I digress, sorry about that, Jack. You know, we will show the Guardians what we are made of. We only need to prepare ourselves a little more. And then... when even your beloved Guardians are afraid of us, then when we have our victory and people will believe in us. And there's nothing you can do to stop us!", Pitch shouted addressing the Man in the Moon.  
"Right!" Jack went along, laughing, suddenly exhilarated by Pitch's speech. He jabbed the staff into the general direction of the Moon.

There were some occasions where they would go separate ways for a day or two but it soon became rare for Jack to be away from Pitch more than a week and if it did happen he soon became twitchy and impatient. They would always meet at the same spot. The clearing of that forest near the lake where Jack Frost had once awoken. Usually the winter spirit reached the lake before Pitch and would kill the time until the Nightmare King arrived by skating over the lake. When summer came they changed their meeting point to a place further North, in a rugged landscape of Newfoundland.  
This routine became essential for Jack. Whenever he was waiting for Pitch he got nervous, pacing up and down the clearing he would worry about whether Pitch had forgotten their arrangement or if something had happened to him. If maybe the Guardians had caught him. The Guardians... after all Pitch had told him the image Jack had of them had become a lot more negative. Not only were they self-important showoffs, they also were petty and cruel. He tried his best to stay out of their way.

Again Jack found himself pacing up and down the surface of the lake, sheets of ice appearing under his every step as he walked. He caught himself biting his nails and immediately stopped when he realized what he was doing. Instead he twirled the staff and conjured up a little snow. Satisfied, the boy watched his snowflakes tumble from the sky. "Sorry I am late", he heard a voice from behind him. Jack turned around. "I had to take a look at what the current events that are taking place in Russia." "That's quite alright. It's good to see you", Jack greeted his friend eagerly, smiling broadly. "But what do you mean? Is something going on?"  
"A war is beginning." Pitch stood with his back to the winter spirit, his hands folded behind him. Jack Frost walked up to the Nightmare King and stood next to him giving him a slightly confused glance. "A war? With whom?" "A war between the humans. One side against the other. And it is not even simply one country against another...it seems several countries have formed bonds to fight a group of other states. In fact, according to my latest observations it has already begun. This is a great chance for us, Jack." The boy dropped his gaze, his smile vanishing completely and frowned. "It is?" "You will see. You should get ready." Jack tightened his grip around the staff and nodded determinedly. "I'm ready."


End file.
